Font licensing

Adobe Fonts offers thousands of fonts from over 150 type foundries as part of your Creative Cloud subscription.

They all include the same font licensing, and Marketplace font purchases give you the same rights you get with the subscription font library. Read about the font licensing in full in the Terms of Use.

Fonts that are activated through the Creative Cloud desktop application work in desktop software programs, such as Adobe Photoshop and Microsoft Word. Web fonts allow you to use custom fonts on a website to style your text.

The licensing information in these frequently asked questions applies to any fonts which have been activated through your Adobe account or added to a website with the embed code we provide.

Note:

Fonts that are installed in the Fonts folder on your computer are licensed under their own individual end user licensing agreements. These FAQs do not apply to those fonts; contact the font foundry directly with any questions on the font license.

Can I use the fonts to create a logo or other images?

Yes. You can use the fonts in any desktop program (such as Adobe Photoshop) to create images or vector artwork, which you can then use for any purpose. This includes generating a PDF, EPS file, or bitmapped file such as a JPEG or PNG.

Can I copyright the logo or register it as a trademark?

Yes. The logo may be copyrighted or registered as a trademark under the Terms of Use.

Can I use the fonts for commercial projects or client work?

Yes. You can create digital designs or print work for your own use or for client projects. This includes generating a PDF, EPS file, or bitmapped file such as a JPEG or PNG.

Can I modify the look of a font and use it for commercial purposes?

Yes, you can modify or decorate type that you have converted to outlines. The resulting image may be copyrighted or registered as a trademark, or used in commercial products.

You may not make changes to the font software file itself.

Does my client need their own font license to use the designs?

No, not if you are creating graphics or documents that have rasterized or properly embedded font data, such as a PDF, JPEG, or PNG.

However, if your client needs to have the font installed to edit your design, they will need their own license, either through a Creative Cloud subscription or as a desktop license purchase.

Can I use the fonts to create products I will sell commercially, such as t-shirts, posters, books, magazines, or other printed merchandise?

Yes. You can use the fonts for any kind of merchandise, whether you’re designing a t-shirt for a friend or product packaging for a client. Other printed products, such as books or magazines, are permitted as well. There is no limitation on the number of impressions or items you may produce.

Can my customers use the fonts to customize the products I sell?

No. The font licensing does not allow you to use the fonts in any way where your customers select and apply fonts to their own text as part of the design. This applies to both digital and physical products, such as greeting cards, T-shirts, and coffee cups.

You may create custom designs for a client on a one-to-one basis, but may not offer customizing products with fonts from your Creative Cloud subscription through a website or other service. Allowing your customers to create their own content requires a custom license, which needs to be purchased directly from the foundry or from an authorized reseller.

Can the fonts be embedded in PDFs and ebooks? Can they be used in printed books?

Yes. The fonts are licensed for embedding in any ebook format which protects the font data such as EPUB, iBooks, Kindle (mobi), Adobe’s Digital Publishing Suite (DPS), and PDF.

Any ebook authoring workflow which requires the user to move the font files themselves is not allowed under the Terms of Use, however.

As with any electronic document, the fonts must only be used for viewing or printing existing content, not for creating new document variations, templates, or dynamic content.

Can I embed the fonts in Flash files?

Yes. The fonts can be embedded in SWF files and AIR applications, when subsetted using authoring applications like Adobe Animate or Flash Professional. As with any electronic document, the fonts must only be used for viewing or printing existing content, not for creating new or dynamic content.

Can I use the fonts in the production of video content?

Yes. You can use the fonts to produce video content for in-house or broadcast use, using tools like Adobe Premiere Pro or Adobe After Effects. The fonts may also be used in video content which will be distributed online through services such as YouTube or Vimeo.

Are the fonts compatible with the InDesign or Illustrator packaging workflow that I use to send documents out for printing?

No. The Terms of Use do not permit the fonts to be transferred to another user or computer, so they cannot be packaged with the file. The printer needs to have their own license for the fonts, either through a Creative Cloud subscription or as a perpetual desktop license purchase.

Can I use the fonts with InDesign Server?

No. The font licensing isn't compatible with InDesign Server. You will need to purchase the appropriate font license for any fonts that you want to use in InDesign Server from the font foundry directly or the foundry's authorized reseller.

Can I keep using files I created with these fonts if I cancel Creative Cloud?

Yes and no. Any file which embeds the font data, such as PDF or image formats, and any text that has been rasterized or outlined, will continue to display correctly. These types of files may be reproduced and distributed independent of your subscription status.

Documents that reference fonts on your computer, such as an InDesign or Word document, will show a missing fonts warning and use a default font from the program in place of the one from Adobe Fonts. You would need to purchase a new font license and install the fonts on your computer to continue to display and edit these files.

Are these fonts available with a perpetual desktop license? What if I need a custom license?

Perpetual desktop font licenses and custom font licenses can be purchased from the font foundry website or from the foundry's authorized reseller.

Perpetual desktop licenses for the Adobe Originals typefaces are sold through our partner, Fontspring. Custom font licenses for the Adobe Originals are not available at this time.

Can I use web fonts in an HTML email or newsletter?

Can I use web fonts in a banner advertisement?

Yes. The CSS embed code can be used to include custom fonts in banner advertisements.

Can I let my customers use web fonts to customize the products I sell?

No. The font licensing does not allow you to use the fonts in any way where your customers select and apply fonts to their own text as part of the design. This applies to both digital and physical products, such as greeting cards, T-shirts, and coffee cups.

You may create custom designs for a client on a one-to-one basis, but may not offer customizing products with fonts through a website or other service. Allowing your customers to create their own content requires a custom license, which needs to be purchased directly from the foundry or from an authorized reseller.

Can I embed web fonts in a mobile or desktop application I’m building?

The web fonts will work from a web view within a mobile or desktop application, though.

Can I host the web font files on my own server?

No. Adobe doesn't offer the ability to locally host fonts. Our web font hosting delivers fonts from a globally-distributed content delivery network (CDN), which performs much better and is more scalable than using local hosting for static assets.

Can I keep using the fonts on my websites if I cancel Creative Cloud?

No. If you cancel your Creative Cloud subscription, the web fonts will no longer be available to your websites. Any site using the web fonts will display the fallback fonts specified in your font stack or your browser's defaults.

Twitter™ and Facebook posts are not covered under the terms of Creative Commons.